Biopsy samples have been obtained in a variety of ways in various medical procedures using a variety of devices. Biopsy devices may be used under stereotactic guidance, ultrasound guidance, MRI guidance, PEM guidance, BSGI guidance, or otherwise. For instance, some biopsy devices may be fully operable by a user using a single hand, and with a single insertion, to capture one or more biopsy samples from a patient. In addition, some biopsy devices may be tethered to a vacuum module and/or control module, such as for communication of fluids (e.g., pressurized air, saline, atmospheric air, vacuum, etc.), for communication of power, and/or for communication of commands and the like. Other biopsy devices may be fully or at least partially operable without being tethered or otherwise connected with another device.
Merely exemplary biopsy devices and biopsy system components are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,526,822, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Automated Biopsy and Collection of Soft Tissue,” issued Jun. 18, 1996; U.S. Pat. No. 5,928,164, entitled “Apparatus for Automated Biopsy and Collection of Soft Tissue,” issued Jul. 27, 1999; U.S. Pat. No. 6,017,316, entitled “Vacuum Control System and Method for Automated Biopsy Device,” issued Jan. 25, 2000; U.S. Pat. No. 6,086,544, entitled “Control Apparatus for an Automated Surgical Biopsy Device,” issued Jul. 11, 2000; U.S. Pat. No. 6,162,187, entitled “Fluid Collection Apparatus for a Surgical Device,” issued Dec. 19, 2000; U.S. Pat. No. 6,432,065, entitled “Method for Using a Surgical Biopsy System with Remote Control for Selecting an Operational Mode,” issued Aug. 13, 2002; U.S. Pat. No. 6,626,849, entitled “MRI Compatible Surgical Biopsy Device,” issued Sep. 11, 2003; U.S. Pat. No. 6,752,768, entitled “Surgical Biopsy System with Remote Control for Selecting an Operational Mode,” issued Jun. 22, 2004; U.S. Pat. No. 7,442,171, entitled “Remote Thumbwheel for a Surgical Biopsy Device,” issued Oct. 8, 2008; U.S. Pat. No. 7,648,466, entitled “Manually Rotatable Piercer,” issued Jan. 19, 2010; U.S. Pat. No. 7,837,632, entitled “Biopsy Device Tissue Port Adjustment,” issued Nov. 23, 2010; U.S. Pat. No. 7,854,706, entitled “Clutch and Valving System for Tetherless Biopsy Device,” issued Dec. 1, 2010; U.S. Pat. No. 7,914,464, entitled “Surgical Biopsy System with Remote Control for Selecting an Operational Mode,” issued Mar. 29, 2011; U.S. Pat. No. 7,938,786, entitled “Vacuum Timing Algorithm for Biopsy Device,” issued May 10, 2011; U.S. Pat. No. 8,083,687, entitled “Tissue Biopsy Device with Rotatably Linked Thumbwheel and Tissue Sample Holder,” issued Dec. 21, 2011; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,118,755, entitled “Biopsy Sample Storage,” issued Feb. 21, 2012. The disclosure of each of the above-cited U.S. Patents is incorporated by reference herein.
Additional exemplary biopsy devices and biopsy system components are disclosed in U.S. Pub. No. 2006/0074345, entitled “Biopsy Apparatus and Method,” published Apr. 6, 2006; U.S. Pub. No. 2008/0146962, entitled “Biopsy System with Vacuum Control Module,” published Jun. 19, 2008; U.S. Pub. No. 2008/0214955, entitled “Presentation of Biopsy Sample by Biopsy Device,” published Sep. 4, 2008; U.S. Pub. No. 2008/0221480, entitled “Biopsy Sample Storage,” published Sep. 11, 2008; U.S. Pub. No. 2009/0131821, entitled “Graphical User Interface For Biopsy System Control Module,” published May 21, 2009; U.S. Pub. No. 2009/0131820, entitled “Icon-Based User Interface on Biopsy System Control Module,” published May 21, 2009; U.S. Pub. No. 2009/0216152, entitled “Needle Tip for Biopsy Device,” published Aug. 27, 2009; U.S. Pub. No. 2010/0113973, entitled “Biopsy Device with Rotatable Tissue Sample Holder,” published May 6, 2010; U.S. Pub. No. 2010/0152610, entitled “Hand Actuated Tetherless Biopsy Device with Pistol Grip,” published Jun. 17, 2010; U.S. Pub. No. 2010/0160819, entitled “Biopsy Device with Central Thumbwheel,” published Jun. 24, 2010; U.S. Pub. No. 2010/0160824, entitled “Biopsy Device with Discrete Tissue Chambers,” published Jun. 24, 2010; U.S. Pub. No. 2010/0317997, entitled “Tetherless Biopsy Device with Reusable Portion,” published Dec. 16, 2010; U.S. Pub. No. 2012/0109007, entitled “Handheld Biopsy Device with Needle Firing,” published May 3, 2012; U.S. Pub. No. 2012/0265095, entitled “Biopsy Device with Motorized Needle Firing,” published Oct. 18, 2012; U.S. Pub. No. 2012/0283563, entitled “Biopsy Device with Manifold Alignment Feature and Tissue Sensor,” published Nov. 8, 2012; U.S. Pub. No. 2012/0310110, entitled “Needle Assembly and Blade Assembly for Biopsy Device,” published Dec. 6, 2012; U.S. Pub. No. 2013/0041256, entitled “Access Chamber and Markers for Biopsy Device,” published Feb. 14, 2013; U.S. Pub. No. 2013/0053724, entitled “Biopsy Device Tissue Sample Holder with Bulk Chamber and Pathology Chamber,” published Feb. 28, 2013; U.S. Pub. No. 2013/0150751, entitled “Biopsy Device with Slide-In Probe,” published Jun. 13, 2013; U.S. Pub. No. 2013/0324882, entitled “Control for Biopsy Device,” published Dec. 5, 2013; U.S. Pub. No. 2013/0218047, entitled “Biopsy Device Valve Assembly,” published Aug. 22, 2013; and U.S. Pub. No. 2014/0039343, entitled “Biopsy System,” published Feb. 6, 2014. The disclosure of each of the above-cited U.S. Patent Application Publications is incorporated by reference herein.
In some settings, it may be desirable to mark the location of a biopsy site for future reference. For instance, one or more markers may be deposited at a biopsy site before, during, or after a tissue sample is taken from the biopsy site. Exemplary marker deployment tools include the MAMMOMARK™, MICROMARK®, and CORMARK™ brand devices from Devicor Medical Products, Inc. of Cincinnati, Ohio. Further exemplary devices and methods for marking a biopsy site are disclosed in U.S. Pub. No. 2009/0209854, entitled “Biopsy Method,” published Aug. 20, 2009; U.S. Pub. No. 2009/0270725, entitled “Devices Useful in Imaging,” published Oct. 29, 2009; U.S. Pub. No. 2010/0049084, entitled “Biopsy Marker Delivery Device,” published Feb. 25, 2010; U.S. Pub. No. 2011/0071423, entitled “Flexible Biopsy Marker Delivery Device,” published Mar. 24, 2011; U.S. Pub. No. 2011/0071424, entitled “Biopsy Marker Delivery Device,” published Mar. 24, 2011; U.S. Pub. No. 2011/0071391, entitled “Biopsy Marker Delivery Device with Positioning Component,” published Mar. 24, 2011; U.S. Pat. No. 6,228,055, entitled “Devices for Marking and Defining Particular Locations in Body Tissue,” issued May 8, 2001; U.S. Pat. No. 6,371,904, entitled “Subcutaneous Cavity Marking Device and Method,” issued Apr. 16, 2002; U.S. Pat. No. 6,993,375, entitled “Tissue Site Markers for In Vivo Imaging,” issued Jan. 31, 2006; U.S. Pat. No. 6,996,433, entitled “Imageable Biopsy Site Marker,” issued Feb. 7, 2006; U.S. Pat. No. 7,044,957, entitled “Devices for Defining and Marking Tissue,” issued May 16, 2006; U.S. Pat. No. 7,047,063, entitled “Tissue Site Markers for In Vivo Imaging,” issued May 16, 2006; U.S. Pat. No. 7,229,417, entitled “Methods for Marking a Biopsy Site,” issued Jun. 12, 2007; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,465,279, entitled “Marker Device and Method of Deploying a Cavity Marker Using a Surgical Biopsy Device,” issued Dec. 16, 2008. The disclosure of each of the above-cited U.S. Patents and U.S. Patent Application Publications is incorporated by reference herein.
While several systems and methods have been made and used for obtaining a biopsy sample, it is believed that no one prior to the inventor has made or used the invention described in the appended claims.
The drawings are not intended to be limiting in any way, and it is contemplated that various embodiments of the technology may be carried out in a variety of other ways, including those not necessarily depicted in the drawings. The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present technology, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the technology; it being understood, however, that this technology is not limited to the precise arrangements shown.